Fire escape



Aug. 17 1926.-

F. M. POTTER FIRE ESCAPE Filed Jan. 16. 1924 2 Sheets-Shoot 1 Aug. 17 1926.

5 1,595,552 F. M. POTTER I FIRE ESCAPE Filed Jan. 16; 1924 2 Shoots-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 17, 1926.

UNITED STATES IRAN K M. POTTER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FIRE ESCAPE.

Application filed January 16, 1924. Serial 1T0. 686,527.

The present improvements relate tofire escapes of the tubular type in which the escaping per'son-slides'from a higher level of the building to a place near the ground. ,Its chief objects are to provide for greater safety and comfort to the individual making his escape, to provide a stronger construction adapted longer to withstand the effect of weather and other destructive influences, to provide a construction in which materials may be employed better suited to the purpose and which may be of relative light-weight stock, and to overcome objectionable atmospheric conditions found in single-tube devices of this general kind.

In the accompanying drawings, whlch form a part of this specification, Figure 1' represents a building having my improved fire escape applied thereto; Fig. 2 1s a greatly enlarged fragmentary sectional View as on the line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is across-sectional View as on the line 3 3 of 'Fig. 2; Fig. 4.- is a medial vertical sectional View. of the entrance-passageway-forming means; and Fig. ,5 is a greatly enlargfid fragmentary sectional view showing e connection of several of the parts.

It is old'practice to lead a-tubular chute, from an upper level of a building to a place near the ground, and the almost invariable practice in such use is to extend the chute s'lantingly downward for. the most part in a straight line alongside the building substantially as shown in Fig. 1. It almost always happens that thef chute thus extends. past or above the windows of lower stories. It often happens, .too, that the chute passes downward between adjacent buildings and past windows thereof or inthe vicinity of small wooden houses, sheds, or otherstructures. Such adjacent buildings may be quite relation by an outer tubular mem r 11, and

inflammable, as inay be also the building on which the structure is mounted. 'In all such instances. the. flames of conflagration are very likelyto play upon the tubular chute, and it has frequently happened in such instances that the single metal tube heretofore employed has become so hot as,

seriously to injure persons sliding, therethrough.

According to these improvements the in-' ner tube .10, which may be considered, of usual and ordinarybonstruction, but which may be of improved construction, is en= compassed or surrounded in s aced-apart face for the person.

, (only one shown) adapted 'to swing1 this outer tube preferably extends from one end of the inner tube to the other so that the lower end of the outer tube will be sure to be carried to a place near the ground where there is little or no likelihood of the presence of flames. It is shown as being held in position by a plurality of stays or supports '12 bolted to both the inner and outer tubular members. ployfour such stays at each of the joints of the cylindrical sections comprising the outer and inner tubes as illustrated.

The outer. tubular member 11, which is supported as b brackets 15 to the building, is preferab y formed of cylindrical sections having angle iron members 16, Fig. 5, rivetedas at 17 to the tubular walls 11 and providing abutting flanges throu h which bolts 18 extend. Bolts'19 hold t e stays 12 to one of these angle iron rings 16. The inner tube 10 may sufliciently strongly be formed by overlapping or telescoping end. portions and riveting them toether, and. bolts 20 Fig. 2, may be used instead of rivets at appropriate places to hold the braces-12.

' In Fig. 2 the chute slants downward and the person descends through the chute in the direction of the arrow, and the overlapped portions at 22 are made to telescope so toprovide an unobstructed sliding s'ur- Beferring to Fig. 4 itwill be noted that the tubular chute l0 terminates in a housedln 'passageway-formmg structure consisting of'a top wall 25, a bottom wall 26, two side walls 27, and a front conical or flaring wall- 28, which passageway structure is secured to atop ,frame part 30, a bottom frame part 31, andtwo side frame parts, all rigu'lly sewall, as

cured together andto the buildin by cementing or otherwise holdln 'itin place. llhere is shown also an ad itional frame consisting of a top part 33, a bottom part 34, and side .parts 35" secured to the other frame parts, anda pair of doors 36 inward into an out-of-th'e-way position are ingedly mounted one at each side of the entrance opening. This particular entrance-passage way structure is more specifically described and claimed inia copending application filed b me cotempo raneously herewith as Serial N umber 689,872 on fire escapes. I

.The rigid tubular outer wall 11-, Fig; 4, is preferably made to encompass' in spaced apart relation that portion of the passageway-formin structure as is exposed outside the bui ding, and is therefore provided with a flaring part 38 overlying the front wall 28 of the. passageway-forming means,

.and the open space 39 is to be understood as extending around the wall 28 at the sides as well as at the top. I provide also ventilation openings 40 for the inner wall 28 and 41 for the outer wall 38, these openingsbeing formed by pressing out the metal in a manner adapted to shield the openings respectively from the weather. These ventilat1on features provide for a circulation of air throughout the inner and outer tubes from top to bottom thereof at all times.

One important advantage of the double construction of the chute is in the provision of safety and comfort to the occupants of the inner tube in the protection afforded against the overheating of that tube by the flames of conflagration. A second important advantage is in the fact that according to this construction the'inner tube 10 may be of a much more satisfactory material than the galvanized sheet iion ordinarily employed, for instance, sheet zinc may be 'used, which is not only much smoother than galvanizediron, but, importantly, maintains its smooth and substantially uncorroded condition substantially indefinitelyf Zinc sheets could not safely be employed for a single-tube con:

struction because of the low melting point of zinc, nor could it be used because of strength considerations unless the sheet material were unusually and objectionably heavy. Relatively light sheetgzinc may be employed for the inner tube 10 and thus a very important object is attained in the provision' and preservation of an unusually smooth sliding surface. suitable sheet stock could be employed. According to the present construction the outer I tube 11 may beof galvanized iron, and is so strongly put together as to provide the, de-

sired strength and to constitute it a carrier for the inner tube, and the inner tube may therefore be formed. of relatively lightweight stock. Furthermore, since the inner and outer tubes are secured rigidly together the structure as a whole is greatly strengthened with the result that the outer tube 11 may also be of materially lighter weight stock than that necessary for a single-tube chute. V v Y Another important feature of the construction is that through the provision of an enclosed air space around the inner tube '10 the inner tube is better preserved against the'deposit of moisture therein through precipitation, objectionable for various reasons including the lowering of the tact. The presence of such moisture is fur ther obviated by the Eventilation feature pro- Still other more ctional convided for the inner tube, and such ventilation also insures proper air conditions in the inner tube at the time of use. The ventilation of the outer tube provides for the carrying away of heated air therein at the time of conflagration, thus preserving the inner tube'against objectionable heat, and it also provides for the carrying away of excessively heated air on hot days, when the sun is beating strongly on the device, thereby maintaining the inner tube at a lower temperature and avoiding the stifling conditions sometimes found'in single tube chutes under excessively warm weather conditions.

The rigid tubular fire escape which expart in a straight line alongside the building has thus far been found to be the most satisfactory and useful of all the various tubular chutes hitherto suggested for the purpose, and the present improvements have for their prime object and effect the rendering of that type and character of escape device still more useful and advantageous in highly important respects. I contemplate as being included in these improvements such modifications and departures from'what is herein specifically illustrated and described as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim: 1. In a fire escape, a rigid tubular chute member open at the bottom and having a materially large part thereof extending ina straight line slantingly downward along the outside of a building, the chutemember terminating at a place near the ground horizontally distant from the top of the chute member, and a second rigid tubular structure encompassing the strai ht portion of the chute member inspaced re ation to provide an airspace between them.

2. In a fire escape, a rigid tubularchute member open at the bottom and having a materially large part thereof extending in a straight line slantingly downward along the outside of a building, the chute member ter- \rnina-ting at a place near the ground horizontally distant from the top of the chute 3 member, and a second rigidtubular structure encompassing the straight portion of the chute member in spaced relation to provide an air space between them, the encompassing structure being open to the outer air at the low r portion and also at the up r portlon ther of to provide a circulation 0' air thereim 3. In a firev escape, a rigid tubular chute member in spaced relation substantially from end to end thereof to provide an air space between them, means forming a housed-in passageway leading from the building into the upper end of the chute member, said encompassing structure encompassing also, and in spaced relation, that portion of said passageway-forming structure which is outside the building, the encompassing structure being open to the outer air at various places to provide a circulation of air therein, the chute member having openings near the top thereof to rovide circulation of air in the chute mem er.

4. In a'fire escape of the character described extending slantingly downward to a horizontally distant place near the ground, the combination of two rigid tubular structures one within the other and secured in spaced-apart relation to provide an air space between them, means providing a housed-in entrance passageway leading from the interior of the building to the interior of the inner tubular structure at the upper portion thereof, door means normally closing the entrance passageway where the passageway leads from the building, the inner tubular structure having ventilation means near the top thereof outside the building to provide a circulation of air from the bottom substantially to the top thereof. a

c FRANK M. POTTER. 

